


The Pub

by TheLodgersEnthusiast (Morgan_Molliniere)



Series: The Spirits of London At Night AU [2]
Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Prostitution, Gen, here it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 20:33:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18532633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morgan_Molliniere/pseuds/TheLodgersEnthusiast
Summary: Adam Frankenstein hears of a pub that the Lodgers have been frequenting, and decides to check it out, running into someone unexpected in the process.





	The Pub

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, finally, a continuation to this weird series that I'm sure left some of you scratching your heads wondering what kind of AU this is and why I would write such a thing with the Archer/Griffin fic! Well, be prepared for an explanation!
> 
> Also finally, a fic for my OC Adam Frankenstein that isn't within the Danganronpa + The Glass Scientists AU! (Just like he deserves.) I'm pretty sure you all have heard about him one way or another, whether from my DR + TGS AU on AO3 (The Murder Game and In The End), or on Tumblr! (Being introduced to him that second way must have really left you guys scratching your heads.)
> 
> Anyway, without further prattle, here ya go!

Surely, this was the strangest thing that Adam Frankenstein had ever done.

While spending time within the Society for Arcane Sciences, Adam had picked up on various Lodgers saying things about a certain pub and its success, as well as its contributions to the Society's funds, and how some Lodgers wanted to go there.

Normally, that wouldn't have bothered Adam, were it not for the sheer number of Lodgers saying it. It seemed to be quite the open secret within the Society – secret, for whenever he made his presence known, they began to clam up about it. And because Adam was quite curious (being the son of a mad scientist might have had something to do with it), he had to know.

So he snuck out of the attic when both Frankenstein and Creature were asleep – he hadn't told them for fear that this might have diminished their opinions of the Society – and went following after a group of Lodgers that he had heard were going to this pub.

For an abnormally tall person with slightly luminous eyes, Adam was very good at making his presence unknown. He used this ability to sneak about the streets of the seedy parts of London, keeping the quickly-moving Lodgers within sight.

It was in this way that Adam managed to follow them all the way to a small pub called “The Spirits of London at Night”. The Lodgers stopped walking here, and Adam watched them, waiting for them to make a move – and then something clattered behind him in the alleyway he was in.

He looked behind him, and someone was moving there in the dark. Adam quickly looked back at the Lodgers – oh, shit, they were coming his way. Adam figured there was only one place he could go to evade being see, and that was further down the alley. So he ran, and came next to the other person in the alley, before shoving himself against the wall and crouching down. The person beside him followed suit.

“What was that?” one of the Lodgers' voices asked.

“I don't see anything,” another replied.

“Was probably a cat,” yet another added.

There were noises of agreement, and soon Adam could see their shadows slowly moving away from the alley. Adam sighed in relief, and then looked at the person beside him – coming face to face with none other than Rachel Pidgley.

“What – Rachel?!”

“Adam?!” Rachel exclaimed in turn. “What are you doing here?”

“Nothing!” Adam said. “I was just...” He tried to think of something, before realizing that none of the excuses he thought of were good enough. Then he sighed. “...I was following some Lodgers.”

“Why?”

“Because...I was curious about where they were going.”

“You don't mean this pub, do you?” Rachel asked.

Adam's eyes darted away, and he twiddled his fingers together. “Uh...”

Rachel put her hands up. “If you do, then that's perfectly fine,” she tried to reassure him. “In fact...I'm here for the same reason.”

Adam's eyes widened. “You are?”

Rachel nodded. “Yeah. Crazy, right? I heard this new pub opened in the city, and the Lodgers were mentioning it left and right too, so I thought that I should go see what the fuss is all about. I just took a different route so I wouldn't be noticed.”

“Ah.” Adam nodded. He never would have imagined someone like Rachel coming here or being so familiar with the city's less respectable grounds. But that didn't matter for now. He then moved to stand up. “Do you think they have gone in?” he asked.

Rachel stood up as well, and patted some dirt off her skirt. “It's likely.”

They both shared a look, before walking out of the alleyway, and looking upon the pub in all its glory. None of the Lodgers Adam had seen were outside The Spirits of London at Night anymore.

“They're inside,” Rachel said. “We should see what's inside too.”

“But what if they find us?” Adam asked.

Rachel shrugged. “Well, let's just be honest with them in that case. They'll understand.”

Feeling only slightly reassured by that, Adam nodded, and with that the two of them entered the pub.

The first thing that Adam noticed was that the pub was bright and noisy. On this particular night it was a bit crowded, making Adam nervous. But Rachel didn't seem fazed as her eyes scanned their surroundings, before they landed on an empty table.

“Let's sit here,” she said. Adam followed after her as she did so, and he took a seat as well. The group of people sitting next to them broke into raucous laughter, and Adam looked at Rachel again.

“Are all pubs this noisy?” he asked.

“On a good night,” Rachel said. “It's good for business.”

“How can that be good for business?”

Before Rachel could respond, someone walked up to their table, carrying a tray of drinks. Adam looked up at this newcomer – she was wearing a black mask that covered most of her face, and a rather skimpy outfit, which caused him to blush. Rachel saw her and blushed as well, but the woman's smile was nothing more than natural.

“ 'Aven't seen you two 'round 'ere before,” she said, as she put the drinks down on their table, “and neither has the bartender. 'E wanted t'give you these complimentary drinks, newcomers.”

“Uh, thanks,” Rachel said, trying to sound happy instead of nervous. “The bartender?”

The woman waved them towards the bartender, who was standing behind his counter at the side of the building. Adam noted that his clothes weren't as revealing, but his waistcoat was tight-fitting and some buttons were loose.

(Wait, why did he notice that?)

Once he noticed he was being looked at, the bartender looked up and waved at them – and then froze mid-wave. It was as if he had seen something he hadn't intended to see. He finished the wave, a little less cheerily and a little more sheepishly than before, then looked away.

Adam tilted his head. That man looked familiar...

“Huh, Lightning don't do that often.” The woman looked at them. “Perhaps 'e does know 'ya.”

“Well, we wouldn't know him,” Rachel said. “But thanks for the drinks.”

“No problem,” the woman said. “If there's anything we can get'cha, let us know.” She held the tray under her arm, and then walked away, her hips swaying as she did so. Adam had to tear his eyes away from her.

“Well, that was nice of the bartender, at least,” Rachel said – perhaps she felt the awkwardness in the air as much as he did. She lifted the glass to her lips, and took a sip. Adam nodded, not knowing what else to say, and copied her. Then he frowned at the taste, and put down the glass.

“What is this?” he asked.

Rachel put her own glass down, and looked it over. “Beer, I think.” Then she licked her lip. “You've never had beer before?”

“I don't go out much,” Adam told her. “And when I do, I don't go searching for liquor.”

“That makes sense.” Rachel drummed her fingers against the table. Her eyes moved away from him to the rest of the pub, and she pressed her lips together. “No sign of the Lodgers,” she said. “This is getting strange.”

“Well, it's already kind of strange,” Adam replied. “Do all people who work in pubs dress like that?”

Rachel shook her head. “No,” she told him, “not unless this's a brothel.”

After she said this, she paused.

“...Wait a minute.”

She looked around again, and this time Adam decided to follow her eyes as they looked at the various employees chatting with the customers. Their body language was a lot more relaxed than was usual, more inviting, more...seductive. Combined with their outfits and the make-up on the women's faces...

Adam felt his face heat up even more. “Oh, God, is this a brothel?” he asked.

“Looks like it,” Rachel said, a little uncomfortably. “But why would the Lodgers want to come here? Why is this place so popular among them? And why would they want to fund the Society?”

“Honestly beats me,” Adam replied. He frowned, and then took another sip from his glass.

Then he grimaced again, and Rachel looked at him with a small smile. “You really aren't fond of alcohol.”

“I don't think I will be.” Adam put his glass down again. Rachel watched him, and giggled a little, before extending her hand.

“Alright,” she said, “give that to me. I'll take it.”

Adam looked down at his glass. “Are you sure?”

Rachel nodded. “Yeah, it'll be fine. I have a decent tolerance for liquor.”

Adam looked at her a little longer, before deciding that it couldn't hurt. He gave the glass to Rachel, who pulled it to her side. She looked at the other patrons, and ran a finger around the rim of her first glass.

“I wonder,” Rachel mused, “what connection this place would have to the Society.”

Adam shrugged. “Maybe they just think it's nice.”

“Maybe.” Rachel raised the glass, and drank a little more. After a while, she put it down, and then looked in front of them – where a small raised platform was being lit up. She turned fully towards the stage. “Oh, they're going to have a performance,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper as the lights dimmed around them.

Adam looked towards the stage as well, as another masked person wearing revealing clothing stepped out from the curtains behind the platform – from the way the people were reacting, this person was apparently a big hit.

And then it hit them like a ton of bricks.

That was a _very familiar_ mop of blonde hair atop this short performer's head.

“H-H-H–”

Adam couldn't spit it out. But Rachel could.

“Hyde?!”

“Glad to see you're all enjoying yourselves, lovelies,” Hyde – for it was Hyde – said, projecting his voice across the pub. “Let's get the show started, shall we?”

Sultry music started playing through a small piano at the side, coming from the fingers of another masked employee. Hyde strutted off the platform and came towards the people sitting near the front, who whistled and cheered as he danced and twirled none too innocently. He placed his hand on one of the tables, and the women sitting at the table looked quite entertained as he faced one of them, and bent down before running his other hand up his leg.

“Oh, God, what the hell is he doing?!” Rachel asked quietly.

Adam found himself unable to look away as Hyde continued to dance, shaking and thrusting his hips upward at just the right rhythm. The music played on as he began to undo some of the buttons on his waistcoat, and everyone watched him eagerly.

Soon, the waistcoat was off, and he threw it at one of the tables to his right – one of the men caught it, and he promptly swooned, his face all red. Hyde continued his hypnotizing dance through the pub, a spotlight following him, and then he twirled around once more before ending up in front of their table.

Now Adam could see for sure that without a doubt it was Hyde, given that there was Hyde's physique and height, and when he looked up at them he was sure Rachel was seeing Hyde's green eyes as well as he was.

The playful smile that had been playing at Hyde's lips throughout the performance fell off when he saw their faces – he must have been shocked to see them. But it was only for all of two seconds, before without missing a beat he placed a foot on the edge of their table, and bucked his hips upward one more time in time with the music. Then he ran his hands over his chest, stopping only at the first button on his shirt, and – oh fuck, he was undoing it too.

Adam wasn't even sure what was the right reaction at this point. One part of him wanted to leave, one part of him wanted to stay and see where this was going, and yet another part just wanted to bawl out of embarrassment.

Then as if it weren't crazy enough, Hyde looked down at him, and, giving the most wicked grin, said, “Looks like you're enjoying the show, sweet.”

At this, Adam's mouth fell open.

Hyde moved his foot off the edge of the table, and then he turned around, before spreading his legs and swaying in time and – nope, nope, Adam couldn't do this anymore. He was finally able to tear his eyes away, his face burning up. He grabbed his former glass from its place beside Rachel – who was still frozen and watching – and took a swig from it. Horrid flavor be damned, his mouth was dry and he needed a fucking drink.

The show was over before anyone knew it, and Hyde ended it with a grand bow to his audience, most of whom were clapping. The rest, however...

Rachel finally looked back at Adam. Her face showed that she had probably lost the will to live. But Adam wasn't looking at her; he was too busy covering his red face.

Hyde acknowledged the audience one more time, before turning around and looking at the two of them. He snickered, and then laid an elbow on their table.

“Well? How was it?” he asked.

“How was – Hyde!” Rachel was finally able to gather her wits, even as she spoke a little quietly. “What the hell are you doing here?! Why were you dancing and stripping and – why do you even work here?”

“First of all, I don't just work here, love,” Hyde said, rolling his eyes. “I _own_ this establishment. And second, it pays well, too.”

“You – you own this place? You – how? How is that even possible?” Rachel asked.

Hyde waved a hand. “That doesn't matter.” His grin grew wider. “What does matter, though, is why you and Mr. Frankenstein are here. I can't say I'm not surprised – because honestly, I am – and what's the reason? Are you here to partake of the carnal pleasures of the flesh?”

“Oh, God, no!” Rachel nearly shouted, while Hyde broke into a laugh. At this point Adam was pretty sure it was safe to bawl. But he looked up at Hyde anyway.

“We're just here because we wanted to know what the Lodgers are doing here,” he told Hyde. “We are not doing anything immoral.”

“Right,” Hyde said, as if he didn't believe it. “In that case, I guess I should tell you curious lot what the Lodgers are doing here.”

“Are they here...watching you perform?” Rachel said it as if she was still pretty unsettled by the notion.

“They can watch if they want,” Hyde said. “But actually, they aren't just doing that. You see...they're employed here.”

“...What?”

“You heard me,” Hyde continued. “There are some Lodgers employed here. They help the money flow freely into the pub's pockets, and a portion of the profits goes to the Society. That's how it is, love.”

Adam could only nod. “...Oh.”

“And the Lodgers are surprisingly good at their job, too.” Hyde put a hand to his chin. “You know Lightning? He mixes a mean drink.”

“Lightning – oh, God.” Rachel closed her eyes for a bit, Hyde's meaning behind the words sinking in. “Mr. Tweedy?”

“Luckily for you, he'd rather stay behind the counter fixing drinks instead of fixing up a good time,” Hyde told them. “But I needn't tell you who goes to work here. They need their privacy.”

“That makes sense,” Adam said. “People probably don't want other people to know they sleep around for money.”

Hyde crossed his arms. “Not when you say it like it's a bad thing. It's a job and it's a service, nothing more. Like many other jobs. Besides, if it were so immoral, then the demand for it wouldn't be so high, now would it?”

Adam didn't know how to respond to that. Rachel raised a hand, meanwhile, and asked, “...Does Henry know about this place?”

“Oh, the good doctor?” Hyde began to snicker. In fact, he snickered for quite a while before he answered. “I'd rather you figure that out for yourselves.”

“That's not reassuring.” Rachel frowned.

“Listen, this place is perfectly legal, and I promise a good time for both customer and employee,” Hyde said. “Not to mention, the Lodgers are doing this of their own free will. There's nothing wrong with what I'm doing.”

“Legal?” Rachel asked. “If the police find out about this place...”

“They'll never find out about this place.” Hyde waved a hand.

“But still, if that were to happen–”

“I'll take care of it, no problem!” Hyde said.

“As if you're not already in trouble for picking fights in other pubs,” Rachel said. She then sighed. “I'm just worried, Hyde. You say that everything's alright, but...”

Hyde regarded her with a look that was almost sympathetic, at least as sympathetic as someone like Hyde could be. Then he gave her a large grin.

“Don't worry about that!” Hyde said. “I'll make sure nothing bad happens! You don't have to be concerned about it.”

“If you say so...” Rachel tried to smile. “Still, I guess I should have known this place belonged to you. 'The Spirits of London at Night'? I knew that rang a bell.”

“Heh, what can I say?” Hyde said. “A good pub should have a good name. Anyway, I have to go. Can't be spending the night here at your table.” A smirk then appeared on his face, and he bent down. “Unless you want to have me for the night...”

“Alright, that's enough, that's enough.” Rachel shoved Hyde away with a hand. “Go run your business, Hyde.”

“Of course, of course!” Hyde said. “Just don't come crawling back to me if you two want a good time!” He then put a hand on his hip. “And I am very much the Spirit of London at Night here, too. That's what you should be calling me here.”

He snickered, and with that turned around and walked away. Adam and Rachel watched him walk away, and then looked at each other.

“...Well,” Rachel said.

“Do you feel like leaving? I feel like leaving,” Adam said.

“Sure.” Rachel nodded, and with that the two of them got up from their seats.

 

* * *

 

 

“That wasn't so bad, when you think about it,” Adam said as they walked down the streets of the city.

“Hyde just told us that he and some of the Lodgers work in a pub that doubles as a brothel,” Rachel told him. “I don't think I'm ever going to get the image of the Lodgers working there out of my head.”

She paused. “...Well, it's not that bad an image.”

Adam looked at her. “What are you insinuating?”

“Nothing, nothing!” Rachel waved her hands. “It was just a joke. Anyway, I'm glad that wasn't so bad. We just...have to figure out how to live with this information.”

Adam looked away. “Well, I know I'm not going to tell anyone else.”

“Me neither.” Rachel said. “Who knows what would happen with this information in the wrong hands.”

They both looked at each other again, and then giggled.

“ 'Wrong hands'? You make it sound so evil!”

“Well, it won't be great if people who didn't like it heard about this place!” Rachel then crossed her arms. “We don't even know if Dr. Jekyll knows about what this pub does. I mean, he would probably know that it's a pub, since some of their income goes to the Society, but once he finds out the full story he won't be too happy.”

“That's true.” Adam nodded. “I don't think Frankenstein would like hearing about it either. She's just beginning to warm up to the Society.”

Rachel scratched the back of her head, laughing a little. “And I'm actually glad Hyde didn't bring up Jasper in the context of 'the carnal pleasures of the flesh'. That would have been the end of me.”

“Jasper?”

Rachel quieted. “Uh...that's nothing. It's nothing.”

“Are you sure?” Adam asked.

“You don't need to know about anything like that!” Rachel said. “It's just something I said.”

Adam looked down. “...Right.” He twiddled his fingers together.

He probably should have guessed it. He knew what Hyde meant by those pleasures, and it was probably more than just a slip of the tongue that made Rachel mention Jasper.

And he would admit, he actually had fun with Rachel tonight. It was the closest they ever had to actually spending a good chunk of time together, between having meals brought up to the attic and the various times they had run into each other in the hallway or in the kitchen.

But he had seen Rachel with Jasper. And he knew what it meant when they looked into each other's eyes, when they spoke with each other and made each other laugh.

Rachel sighed, and then stretched her arms. “Anyway, I'm spent. Let's go back to the Society, alright?”

“Alright,” Adam said.

Rachel looked at him, and tilted her head. “Hey, you've been silent. Are you thinking about something?”

“It's nothing,” Adam said. “You don't need to know anything about that.”

Rachel shrugged. “Alright.”

They went back to the Society without too much trouble, or any Lodgers asking them where they went (which, Rachel said, was unusual for them). Rachel bade him goodnight at the bottom of the stairs, and then Adam went up to the attic. Once in the attic, he went to his bed, and collapsed into it.

“Where did you go?”

Adam opened his eyes, and looked up. Creature was looking at him with their glowing yellow eyes, giving him a piercing look. He sighed, and his eyes darted over to Frankenstein. She wasn't awake; perhaps she hadn't noticed him leave. Unlike Creature.

“Nowhere,” Adam said tiredly. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“That's new,” Creature replied. “What makes you say that?”

Adam turned his head away. Creature sighed. “Alright.” They waved a hand. “It's just that you look tired.”

“It's nothing.”

If Adam were looking, he would have seen Creature look more worried. But he did hear Creature moving closer to his bed, and then he felt a large hand pat his head. Then he closed his eyes and drifted off.

Okay, so maybe going to a pub-slash-brothel wasn't the strangest thing that Adam had done.

Going to said place with the person he had feelings for was.

 


End file.
